THREE DEFENDANTS EACH CHARGED WITH 26 COUNTS OF ANIMAL CRUELTY

Bergen County Prosecutor GURBIR S. GREWAL announced animal cruelty charges brought against JESUS GABRIEL VALENTIN RIVERA (DOB: 6/22/81, single; and unemployed) of 3812 Pinehurst Drive, Deltona, Florida, VANESSA MILLAN (DOB: 05/04/86, single; and unemployed) of 650 Kenwick Circle, Apt#102, Casselberry, Florida, and ELAINE RAMOS (DOB: 7/13/90, single; and unemployed) of 263 Rose Petal Place, Altamonte Springs, Florida. The charges are the result of an investigation led by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Animal Cruelty Task Force under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti.

On Saturday, August 19, 2017, the Animal Cruelty Task Force received information about a suspicious van in the parking lot of a store in Garfield. Task Force members, assisted by the Garfield Police Department, approached the van, which was occupied by VALENTIN RIVERA, MILLAN and RAMOS and discovered 26 English and French bulldog puppies. The dogs were contained within two cages and one cooler, all of which were feces-littered. One of the cages housed thirteen of the puppies. The temperature in Garfield that day was 90 degrees, and the puppies had no access to water.

On August 19, 2017, VALENTIN RIVERA, MILLAN and RAMOS were each charged with 26 counts of Animal Cruelty in violation of N.J.S.A. 4:22-17(a)(3), a disorderly person’s offense. The defendants were charged on summonses and their court date is scheduled for October 3, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. before the Honorable Louis J. Dinice, J.M.C. in Central Municipal Court in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would also like to thank the Animal Cruelty Task Force and the Garfield Police Department for their investigation.